Similar to how spotlights are used to showcase actors in theatre, LED spotlights are used to emphasise landscaping. LED spotlights draw attention to specific garden/outdoor features you want your guest to easily see – like fountains and architectural structures.
If LED floodlights illuminate a broad area, LED spotlights have narrower beam angles so they can consolidate the concentration on a single element.
Understanding Outdoor Lighting in Landscaping
If you’ve put so much attention into landscaping your garden, wouldn’t it be a waste if its beauty is overshadowed when the sun sets? With outdoor lighting, you can continue to showcase the enchanting visuals of your outdoors. Not only that!
While boosting the visual appeal of your garden is one of the benefits of using outdoor lighting, it can also strengthen the security of your perimeter and improve the overall safety of your property!
In addition, outdoor lights like an LED spotlight can add visual interest to your outdoor area by highlighting focal points like a fountain, pond, or a stunningly arranged flowerbed!
Benefits of LED Spotlights
LED spotlights are energy-efficient, long-lasting and low-maintenance because they’re designed with LED technology. Although they can produce dazzling luminance, you don’t need to fear when your monthly electrical bill arrives!
LED spotlights can efficiently convert energy into light rather than waste. Therefore, they can produce outstanding illumination even if they require a surprisingly minimal wattage. In addition, they don’t have parts that burn out quickly, so they’re guaranteed to last a long time. LED spotlights are a cost-effective outdoor lighting solution since they will not add significantly to your electrical consumption and lessen your maintenance expense!
Besides all that, LED spotlights are versatile, giving you various options for application. They come in a variety of colour temperatures, styles, beam angles, finishes, etc.
Choosing the Right LED Spotlights for Landscaping
LED spotlights are typically used to highlight different landscaping elements. This includes trees, plants, walkways, pathways, architectural structures, and water features. The LED spotlight you’ll use for a certain landscape feature may not be the same for the other. It would be best to assess the environment where the spotlight will be situated and look for a model that fits best.
Here are some factors that you need to take into consideration:
- Brightness – The higher the lumens, the brighter the spotlight. Naturally, the bigger the landscape feature, the brighter the spotlight should be.
- Beam Angle – Similar to brightness, the wide the landscape feature, the broader the beam angle should be. For small and medium-sized trees, a 24-degree beam angle should suffice. Alternatively, for wider ones, opt for a 60-degree beam angle.
- IP Rating – Normally, the fixture needs to have at least an IP65 rating for outdoor lighting. Although if you’re planning for underwater installation, you’ll need an even higher IP rating.
Highlighting Trees and Plants
One of the main attractions of landscaping is the stunning greenery. That’s why it’s crucial to highlight their beauty to boost your garden’s visual appeal! When positioning the spotlights, you need to categorise your plants. For short and narrow-sized trees and plants, use a 24-degree beam angle. On the flip side, if it’s short but wide, use two spotlights with a 60-degree beam angle and position them near the tree trunk.
If you have ginormous trees like an oak tree, one spotlight will not be enough to showcase it. You’ll need a few 60-degree spotlights surrounding the trunk. Another thing that you can do is change the colour temperature to suit the mood that you want to showcase through your greenery.
Illuminating Pathways and Walkways
Walkways and pathways in your outdoors must always be visible to ensure safety. If left in the dark, there’s a high chance of slipping and tripping. Aside from lining garden lights to illuminate your walkways and pathways, adding LED spotlights is another option you can consider!
Position the spotlights on the sides of the walkway with the light beams directed to the path. Also, besides keeping everyone crossing safe, it can be a focal point in your garden that can elevate its aesthetics!
Accentuating Architectural Features
If you focus on the architectural details of your outdoors, you can use an LED spotlight to make them more noticeable and prominent! Similar to how galleries and museums showcase their pieces, you can use LED spotlights to replicate a similar effect to your architectural features.
For façades, walls and pillars, you can position a few spotlights with a wider beam angle at the base with the light directed upwards. For statuary, while putting it on the bottom might be your first option, consider adding your LED spotlights above to avoid making them look scary at night! If you’re set on adding spotlights on the ground, ensure the shadows will not result in a monster effect. This may take some trial and error, but it will surely look majestic once you arrive at the perfect combination!
Water Feature Lighting
When lighting water features like fountains, putting LED spotlights over them is better. Nonetheless, if it’s impossible, position the spotlights inside the base and angle them upward away from people’s eyes. You can also consider using colour-changing spotlights for different effects and to diversify your lighting design. Guarantee that the LED spotlights you use for this application are waterproof enough to withstand the location.
Smart Lighting and Automation
Sometimes, outdoor lighting is not given that much attention because switching them on adds to the list of things to do, or you forget about them altogether. One way to ignite your interest in to further developing your outdoors is by integrating smart controls and automation. With these devices, you can schedule your lights to work at a particular time so they will automatically operate. Even if you forget, as long as it’s set, your lights will turn on/off!
Smart home automation can also have various customisation options, and some even include a remote control for convenient management. So, if you’re only issue with outdoor lighting is daily management, integrate this technology into your lighting system!
Conclusion
LED spotlights are energy-efficient, long-lasting, and low-maintenance. It can highlight special features in your outdoors, including greenery, architectural structures, and water features! With properly set-up outdoor lighting and landscaping, you can utilise your outdoors as an extension of your home. So, if this excites you to set up your outdoor lighting, visit our website, Simple Lighting! We have an extensive collection of various outdoor fixtures, including flood lights, wall lights, garden lights, and more!
